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Dynamic teams are the secret sauce of transformational parishes. Yet it’s difficult to talk about building dynamic teams in parishes because parishes are so diverse. Their size and circumstances vary widely. On one end of the spectrum are rural parishes with perhaps 100 registered families that run on volunteerism. At the other end are megaparishes
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The month of June is dedicated in a special way to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as the solemnity that honors the devotion — held 19 days after Pentecost Sunday — almost always takes place this month. In 2002, Pope St. John Paul II established the solemnity of the Sacred Heart as the World Day
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The solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, which falls annually on June 29, is the great feast day of the Church of Rome. It is the feast of two martyrs upon whose blood the Church of Rome is built. Paul was beheaded, and Peter was crucified upside down. Two magnificent basilicas stand in Rome today
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Corpus Christi processions used to be very common. Images of priests clad in a cope, monstrance held aloft underneath the canopy, with a seemingly interminable line of worshippers and adorers fill the memories of many Catholics. But such images became less familiar as time went on. However, in recent years there has been a resurgence
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The liturgical year offers us a kind of holy door to take us back into Ordinary Time after the Easter season. Opening that great entrance means unlocking the solemnities of Pentecost, the Most Holy Trinity and the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord. In my mind, these great occasions share certain scriptural and
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Since the promulgation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in 2002, dioceses and eparchies in the United States have endeavored to carry out 13 of its 17 articles (the remaining four articles are implemented on the national level). The charter is divided into four sections that promote healing and reconciliation
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Aside from the Twelve, few others receive the designation of apostle in the New Testament. Chief among them is the apostle Paul. Among the others is his one-time collaborator Barnabas, whose memorial is celebrated by the Church on June 11. Legend recalls Barnabas as one of the 70 disciples of Christ in the Gospel, but
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Although the words “ministry” and “administration” contain the same root, most pastors have little enthusiasm for the kind of tasks involved in administration. This was the firm conclusion of an extensive national study of Catholic and Protestant pastors done by the Lilly Endowment some years ago — and later followed up by a second round.
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Stereotypes abound. Some pastors are “memo” priests, who send memos to various people on the parish staff at various times of day or night. Others cannot seem to get through a day without a series of spontaneous meetings with one parish group or another. Some pastors think of leadership as fiscal responsibility and strength, peppering
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The gray, slick cover of this small book brings back memories of an event that radically changed me. A golden crucifix, embedded inside the cover, indicates that it is my first Communion book, given by my grandmother. This icon of the past has special meaning, for this same first Communion class recently celebrated our 70th
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